1 Ruffino, 2 Ruffino

November 10, 2010

Man convicted of theft said he didn\'t approach Elgin dealer

An Addison man contends he was not the Nicholas Ruffino who offered an Elgin dealer a faulty telephone number and then angled for a spot delivery, as described in the Jan. 11 edition of this newsletter.

Nicholas Ruffino, 32, of Addison, was convicted last month of theft stemming from a 2008 transaction at a Barrington dealership. He describes himself as 5 feet 7 inches tall and about 285 pounds.But Ruffino said he never approached the Elgin dealer in late December.

"I didn’t do that. I learned my lesson," he said.

The Elgin dealer said the Nicholas Ruffino he encountered never visited the store, instead limiting correspondence to e-mail. The prefix of the address isnicholasruffino.

"He states that he works off his Blackberry and is in meetings all day and that e-mail works best for him, so he avoids giving a phone number," the Elgin dealer said. "We did press him and finally got a phone number; it was bad.

"He also stated that he is closing on a property, so he can’t put the vehicle on contract, but he plans on paying cash. His business manager is writing a check for the entire amount.

He then suggested spotting the vehicle to him on a promissory note."

The Elgin dealer stopped the deal. But Nicholas Ruffino of Addison said he worries that he will have difficulty working a deal when he decides to trade in his current car. When the Elgin dealer entered Ruffino’s name in an Internet search, a 2008 article from the CATA Bulletin surfaced, reporting his actions then.

"I’m not the person I was in 2008," Ruffino said Wednesday. "It’s not going to happen again."